Planning to give this Christmas?
The gift-giving season is upon us, and with it comes Christmas shopping for our loved ones. We all know people who will be running around the mall five minutes before closing time on Dec. 24, looking for that spontaneous token to tuck under the tree. Then there are those meticulous planners who have every gift…
Full stomach, faulty memory
We are daily awash in choices and opportunities, and many of us are affluent enough to be able to choose among many options. Many of us make many choices even before we get out the door in the morning. Our stomachs are full, we live in fine houses, our income and assets have grown, our…
Stories of generosity
The young couple was living far from home, juggling college studies and part-time work, in preparation for overseas missionary work. Their first child was due and then complications set in. It was a difficult birth, and the hospital bill totalled much more than their meagre budget allowed. When the time came for the new father…
A picture of gradual decline
Often our society relies too much on numbers. In gravitating to quantification we tend to short-circuit the truth, which is nuanced and multilayered. But when it comes to our denomination, I would like to see more numbers. Specifically, how has overall giving to area/regional churches and Mennonite Church Canada changed over time? The charts here…
Does your financial plan include giving?
In the early years of our marriage, my wife Sharon and I often sat through our pastor’s annual sermon on tithing consumed by the feeling that we should do more. A serious discussion always followed, but with monthly bills, a mortgage, car payments, and school fees for our daughter, it was difficult to find the…
I can give with joy
Early last year I decided to give a few dollars to any panhandler I encountered. I made sure to keep loonies, toonies and quarters in my car in case someone approached me while I was stopped at a red light. Prior to this, encounters with panhandlers felt awkward. I was taught growing up not to…
Be like Scrooge?
In the last few weeks, most of us have encountered some version of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge. In the initial run-up to Christmas, I must admit I am often a bit of a curmudgeon myself. Perhaps it is hearing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in November, or perhaps it…
Are you grateful today?
Although it is only November, my community is starting to put up festive decorations and the blank spaces on my calendar are filling up quickly. A list of gifts for family and friends will soon land me in checkout lines where I will almost certainly be asked perfunctorily, “How are you today?” Most customers will…
The ‘yes’ perspective
When I was a very young girl, I realized that the coloured papers in my mother’s purse could get you things. That was my introduction to money. Growing up, I remained fascinated by the intense influence money has on human behaviour. The Bible has a lot to teach about our relationship with money, but adopting…
Christmas: A time for giving
Barb and Orrie Gingrich of Holyrood, Ont., have quite a crowd of grandchildren. It was 2008 when Barb began to think of all the gifts being exchanged at her place during the family Christmas festivities. Each family bought gifts for all the children and the adults exchanged names among themselves. What would happen, she wondered,…
